Blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT) are both poised to be world-changing technologies, just at the beginning of their adoption curve.
What is the Internet of Things (IoT)?
The Internet of Things (IoT), is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, that are provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.
The total installed base of the Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices is projected to amount to 75.44 billion worldwide by 2025; a fivefold-increase in ten years.
The IoT, enabled by the already ubiquitous internet technology, is the next major step in delivering the internet’s promise of making the world a connected place.
Blockchain in IoT and retail
At the current rate that internet technology is evolving, it’s not out of place to discuss the potential implementation of blockchain when it comes to connectivity and Internet of Things. IoT – is not complicated; it’s the concept of connecting any real-world devices to the internet and devices to each other. The communication between these devices, with each other and with the internet, can be facilitated through blockchain technology.
The distributed ledger technology allows for a list of interactions between the devices and the internet. This way, we can keep track of not only which devices interact with each other and the internet, but also what is being done through each interaction. Blockchain is designed as a basis for applications that involve transactions and interactions, so you can see why and how this might help when it comes to IoT and retail.
What’s more, IoT and blockchain can be used to increase security infrastructure and also used for the extraction and analysis of data.
In conclusion
Blockchain technology is the missing link to settle scalability, privacy, and reliability concerns in the Internet of Things. Blockchain technologies could perhaps be the silver bullet needed by the IoT industry. The decentralised approach would eliminate single points of failure, creating a more resilient ecosystem for devices to run on; this can be perfectly extrapolated to the future of retail.
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